UK contact-tracing saga continues as UK government releases details of impact assessment on the app and admits that adaptations and even total change in form are not off the table

As headlines shift to the UK’s new lockdown rules, much to the probable relief of the developers of the country’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app with its controversial centralised database, news has already emerged of teething troubles in the second stage of tests of the app, which began on 4 May.

Less than a week since the app became available to residents of the Isle of Wight, UK communities secretary Robert Jenrick revealed that it had already been downloaded by more than 50,000 people – a third of the island’s population – and confirmed reports, highlighted by Computer Weekly on 8 May, that a radical change in the nature of the app was a possibility.

In addition, the app’s developer, NHSX, the digital innovation unit of the UK’s health service, has released details of an impact assessment outlining the full technical specifications of the app and its objectives and limits.

The UK contract-tracing appworks by using Bluetooth to automate the “laborious” process of contact tracing and has the goal of reducing transmission of the virus by alerting people who may have been exposed, so they can take appropriate action.

Once installed, the app uses Bluetooth Low Energy to log the distance between a user’s smartphone and other phones nearby that also have the app installed. The anonymous log of how close users are to others will be stored securely on each user’s phone. If a user becomes unwell with symptoms of Covid-19, they can use the app to inform the NHS, which, subject to sophisticated risk analysis, will trigger an anonymous alert to those other app users with whom the user came into significant contact over the previous few days.

The other key question regarding the app’s potential surrounded the fact that the centralised approach meant users’ phones would need to be in constant powered-on mode for the app to function correctly, unlike alternatives that usedecentralised technology from Apple and Google.

After reports on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that the London office of Switzerland-based IT development firm Zuhlke Engineering was actively working on a contact-tracing solution based on a decentralised model, using application programming interface (API) technologies developed by Google and Apple, Jenrick was challenged directly as to whether the UK was developing a second app.

He replied: “We are now building the network that we need through track and trace… We are also paying attention to what is happening in other parts of the world. This [the Isle of Wight test] is a pilot and we’re trying to get as many people to sign up for it as possible – 50,000 have downloaded it. We are learning lessons from other apps elsewhere in the world, and if we need to change our app, we will do, and that is the point of piloting this before we take it nationally across the country.”

When pushed further, Jenrick would not fully admit that the UK government was developing a second app, and reaffirmed his earlier comment about taking notice of global developments. “As far as I am aware, we are not developing a second app, but we are paying attention to other apps around the world, and if we need to adapt our app or move to a different model, then we will do,” he said. “We want the best app.”

“If we need to change our app, we will do, and that is the point of piloting this before we take it nationally across the country”
Robert Jenrick, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

The DPIA fully describes the purpose of the project and how it is processing the information necessary so that it can work to the benefit of the NHS in combating Covid-19. It describes the envisaged data processing operations; assesses whether those processing operations are necessary and proportionate in relation to the purposes for which the app is being deployed; and identifies risks and appropriate mitigation of risks to users and other data subjects from those processing operations.

It also looks at the timeframe and purpose of the project and who the controllers and information asset owners will be. It also sets out full information to allay the many fears about data privacy the app has already generated though its centralised database. Indeed, the NHS said that because the operation of the app involves the processing of personal data, as that term is defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it created the DPIA.

“We recognise that public trust and confidence in the app is paramount to its success,” the NHS assured. “We also recognise that transparency around the functioning of the app and its privacy controls is key to engendering that trust and confidence.”

Unified Communications: the key to prospering in the new working reality of Covid-19

The coronavirus is changing everything about how people work, and will do so permanently. It added that even though the working world was experiencing unprecedented uncertainty, there were two things that should be borne in mind: the virus will pass, and at the other side of the pandemic, the world of work will look very different.

I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

Start the conversation

0 comments

Register

I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.